Printing, cutting, and scoring press



'April 25' 1933- G. F. yi--oRizu ET AL I 1,905,559

PRINTING, CUTTING, AND SCORING PRESS Filed Nov. 18, 1929 2 shee't-Sheel. l

` xq -l THEIR yATTORNEY April 25, 1933- G. F. FORD Er AL A1,905,559 l PRINTING, CUTTING, AND SCORING PRESS Filed Nov. 18, 1929 2 Sheets-Shet 2 W44! 75? Pl? TMHV THEIR ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 25, 1933 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE GEORGE F. EORD, 0F HOLLYWOOD, AND WALTER PITTMAN, OF HUNTINGTON PARK, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNORS TO FIBREBOARD PRODUCTS INC., OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALI- FORNIA, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE PRINTING, CUTTING, AND SCORING PRESS application aied November 18,1929. serial ne. 407,807.

Our invention relates to printing presses,I

and particularly toppresses 'of the cylinder type in which material such as fiberboard may be printed, cut, and scored for the formation ofcartons, without handling between the operations.

An object of means whereby operation may press as the printingo'peratiom and without intermediate handling.

Another object of our invention is to provide a press in which both the printing and the cutting and scoring operations are performed under the best conditions, the quality of neither being sacrificed in order that the operation may be simultaneously performed.

Still another object of our invention is to provide a means for adapting a press of well known type to a new form of use, thus obviatour invention is to provide the cuttingand the scorlng ing the necessity for the manufacture of av large number of special parts and promoting interchangeability.

The invention v possesses numerous objects and which, with the foregoing, will be set forth in the following description of our invention. It is to be understood that we do not limit ourselves to this disclosure of species of our invention, as we may adopt variant embodiments thereof within the scope of the claims.

The simultaneous printing and cutting and scoring of material upon a unitary cylinder press has been the subject of inventive effort for at least forty years. Such presses as have thus far been placed on the market have been only partly satisfactory, owing to the different requirements of the two operations, and to the fact that the quality of the work of one or both types has been unfavorother ably affected by the compromises of design.-

For light work, cutting and scoring rules have been included in the same chase as the printing type. Thisl is quite impractical for working in fiberboard or other heavy material, since the counterdie necessary for the cutting and scoring operation is unsuitable as a support for a surface to be printed.

The expedient most used has been to cut and score with a rule die secured to a reciprobe performed on the same features of advantage, some ofl Y l and beneath eating bed, with a counterdie carried by an f impression cylinder, and to print from a type carrying roller bearing against the side of the same cylinder. Varying thickness of counterdie and of material worked on result in slightly different peripheral speeds for the impression and type cylinders and consequent smearing and failure to register.

In broadly descriptive terms the press of our invention is of the type in which the material operated upon is pressed against the type, and in this case also against the cutting and scoring rules, which are secured to a flat reciprocating bed. The impressions are made by continuously rotating impression cylinders. lThe cylinders receive the material to be operated upon, hold it while the impression is beng made, and transfer it from one to the other, in the same general manner as 'the well known two-color printing press.

v-The first cylinder is the printing cylinder, ,I

and is substantially thesame as in the ordinary two-color press. lThe second cylinder is the cutting cylinder, and diers from the second cylinder in the two-color press in being of slightly smaller diameter than the first cylinder and in having attached thereto a removable, semi-cylindrical jacket to which a cutting and scoring counterdie is secured, which a tympan is placed for insuring uniform impression.

The counterdie is built up of layers of paper which are formed and worked to provide a matrix for the cutting vand forming rules of the cutting and scoring die, which is locked on the press bed to reciprocate beneath the cylinder. v Means are provided for stretching the jacket tightly in place upon the cylinder, and for supporting its leading edge against the impact of the cutting knives. The cutting cylinder is preferably given a larger movement than the printing cylinder in order properly to clear the dies upon the recovery movement of the bed, and the register rack is altered in length and positionin'order to damp out vibration due to the impact of the die and to prevent its transmission to the printing cylinder.4 A special form of delivery is also provided in order to render the cylinder more accessible for removal and repacement of the jacket. eferring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is the side elevation of a two cylinder, reciprocating bed press embodying our invention. f

Figures 2 to 6 inclusive are diagrams show' ing the progress of the material upon the im ression and transfer cylinders.

igure 7 is a diagrammatic perspective view illustrating the operation-of the grippers which hold the material upon the cylinder,

Figure 8 is a fragmentary sectional view of the cutting and scoring cylinder, showing. the means of attachment of the leading edge of the jacket and the gripper mechamsm.

Figure 9 is a view .similar to Figure 8 showing the attachment ofthe trailing edge of they jacket.

Figure 10 is a plan view of a portion 'of the transfer cylinder.

Figure 11 is a cross sectional view of the transfer cylinder and portions of the impression cylinders, showing the grippers on the transfer cylinder and the openings in the cutting cylinder jacket for clearing the transfer cylinder grip ers.

Figure 12 is a ragmentary cross sectional view of the press, showing the means for reciprocating the bed. The plane of section is on the line 12-12 of Figure'l.

Figure 13 is a fragmentary view, partly in cross section and partly in elevation, showin the relationship between the im ression cylinder jacket, the tympan, the cutting and scoring dies, the counterdie, and the material which is being operated upon. The plane of section is on the line 13-13 of Figure 1.

In its preferred form our invention is .applied to a press which is in general similar to a two-color flat-bed press, comprisin a frame 6 having ways 7 upon which the ta le 8 for holding the type and the cutting and scoring dies is slida ymounted. Standards 9 and 11 project above the frame, and` carry slidabl mounted journal blocl 12 which are resse u wardl springs p Journaled in the earing blocks 12 are the impression cylinders 14 and 16. Between the impression cylinders is Journaleda transfer cylinder 17, which is half the diameter of the impression cylinder 14 and is .geared thereto for rotation in the opposite direction and at the same peripheral speed. suitable prime mover, not shown,drives the impression cylinders through appropriate gearing. The saine prime mover reciprocates the table 8 by means of a spool gear 18 (see Figure 12) which is splined to a shaft 19 on which it is ,.reciprocated by the cam 21 and lever 22 so as to engage alternately with racks 23 'and 24. When the spool gear engages rack 23 the table is driven forward, or to the right. When the rack 24 is engaged the table is driven to,

the left. The gear train is so designed that the table travels at the same speed as the periphery of the impression cylinder 14.

A certain amount of backlash exists in the gear train, which would militate against exact registry were it not taken up. This is accomplished by the registry racks 31, 31 on the ly minor change from ordinary. practice has been found to be of major effect in improving the quality of printing done by the press.

In order to relieve the shock which the sudden change in direction of tlietable would otherwise produce, a dash pot 33 is provided at each end of the press, into whichfworks a piston 34.

As has been stated, the bearing blocks 12 in which the cylinders 14 and 16 are journaled, are forced upward by the springs 13, which hold the impression cylinders out of contact with the press bed upon the recovery stroke of the table, i. e., when the peripher of the cylinders is moving inthe opposite d1 rection from the press bed. Upon the forward or working stroke of the bed the cylinders are forced down against the action of the springs 13 by means of cams 36 which are actuated by cranks 37, connecting rods 38, and bell cranks 39. Each of the bell cranks has a cam follower 41 which travels in a camway 42 found in a cam gear 43. The action of the cams on the two cylinders is similar, but ythe cams are preferab y so formed that the drop, or movement to and from the press bed of the cylinder 16 is greater than that of the cylinder 14.

Both of the impression cylinders are provided with grippers 46 which are positioned in horizontal grooves 47 formed in the cylinders. The grippers on each cylinder are mounted on a rocker shaft 49, the end of which carries a cam 51. They are actuated by this cam striking pins 53 andf54 which are slidably mounted in the frame of the machine, and actuated by a rocker arm 56 as is best shown in Figure 7. When the in 53 projects the upper end of the cam 51 strikes it, releasing the gripper.

The gripper is held alternately in the openy and close position by means of the s ring 57 which works against the arm 58 and fiirms a compression toggle. The gripper is closed by the other end of the cam .51 striking against the pin 54 which is rojected by the rocker arm to accomplish this action. The grippers hold the material 59against blocks back to the printing cylinder. This seeming- 61 which have corrugated surfacesagainst which the material is held an d: which are mounted adjustably on the bell crank 62, permitting them to be positioned accurately.

Each of the impression cylinders makes one revolution,l and the transfer cylinder makes two revolutions, for each of the forward and return strokes of the table 8. The timing of the device can best be shown by the diagrammatic Figures 2 through 6. The mate rial is'fed from the table 66, the grippers on cylinder 14 closin'g to receive it and carrying it aroundthe cylinder, which drops to impress it against the type on the forwardly moving table as shown in Figure 2.

The drop of cylinder 14 occurs approximately one-half revolution after the gripper has closed, the cylinder remaining down for another half revolut-ion. After still another quarter revolution, or one and one-fourthv revolutions" after the grippers have closed, the leading edge of the sheet is in position to be transferred to theltransfer cylinder 17 whose grippers close as?1 the grippers on the impression cylinder 14 Open. The material is carried around the transfer cylinder as is shown in Figure 3, the direction of its curvature being reversed, and the printed side of the sheet being held away from actual contact with the surface of the transfer cylinder by the toothed rings 67 which are spaced at intervals along the transfer cvlinder as is best shown in Figure 10. The transfer cylinder carries the sheet of material for one and one-quarter revolutions, its grippers opening simultaneously with the closing of the grippers on the impression cylinder 16. As the grippers on the cylinder 16 close upon the rst sheet, the grippers on the cylinder 14 close upon a second sheet of material which follows through'thel same cycle as the first.

During the time when the sheet is on the transfer cylinder and the initial period when it is on the impression cylinder 16 both of the cylinders are raised above the press bed which is moving on the recovery stroke.

- 5,5* livery 68.

When the sheets have reached the position shown in Figure 4 the bed has reversed its direct-ion the cylinder I4 drops toA the impression position, the cylinder 16 following it a quarter of a revolution later. The cylinder 16 also carries the sheet for one and one-quarter revolutions, when the grippers are released 'and the sheet travels to the de- The action as thus far described is similar to that of the ordinary two-color press, except for the fact that the motion of the cylinder` 16 is greater than that of the cylinder 14 in order to clear the cutting and scoring die,

which is secured -to the press in a chase .69 in the same manner as would be the case withA type. The cutting and scoring die is made up of cutting rules 71 and scoring rule 72 held in place by wooden blocks 73.

In order to facilitate the cutting and scoring action, however, the cylinder 16 differs materially from the impression cylinder 14.

The cylinder itself is of slightly smaller diameter than the cylinder 14, and circling slightl more than lhalf the cylinder is a removab e .jacket 76along'the straight edges the edge of the jacket against the impact of the cutting die.

The wedge 81 at` the trailing edge of the jacket is movable by means of the screws 82 to engage the wedge 77 and pullthe jacket tightly against .the periphery of the cylinder, as is shown in Figure 9.

Since the transfer cylinder makes two revolutions for each revolution of the impression cylinder 16, and since the jacket extends over slightly more than half of the periphery of the impression cylinder', provision must be made to allow the grippers on the transfer cylinder to clear the trailing edge of the jacket. This is accomplished by forming openings 83 in the trailing'cdge which are spaced to register with the transfer cylinder grippers. The extension of thc jacket beyond the half circumference permits it to be solidly supported by the cylinder itself over its entire working surface, so that there is no need to provide support for the wedge 77 on the trailing edge.

In operation a counterdie 84 is built up on the jacket as is shown in Figure 13, this counterdie worked to form grooves or matrices which cooperate with the scoring rulers 72 and knives 71 of the die. It is evident that this requires a separate counterdie for each die that is used.

A tympan 85 is usually built up under the jacket in order to secure perfectly even cutting and scoring. As previously stated, the cylinder 16 is of slightly smaller diameter than the cylinder 14. This difference in size however is made up by the thicknesses added by the tympan, jacket and counterdie, so that in operation the two impression cylindersy are of substantially equal diameter to coordinate intheir action relative to the table and transfer cylinder.

I n the ordinary type of color press the delivery which receives the material from the cylinder 16 is mounted upon the standard 11, and so covers the surface of the cylinder as to make the removal of the jacket impossible without dismantling the press. In the device of our linvention the entire deliveryl is mounted upon a bracket 86 which is completely separated from the standard 11. The delivery comprises a pivotally mounted arm 87 which carries pulleys 88 a removable jacket secured to said cutting on which run the usual delivery belts 89 and also carries projecting fingers 91. A

y lever 92 is fixed to the arm 87 and is operated by means of a link 93, lever 94 and cam 96 so that the fingers are dropped in .place against the cylinder at the proper moment, and the material is shot forward between the delivery belts. When it is desirable to change the jackets upon the cylinders the link 93 may be uncoupled lfrom the lever 92 and the delivery raised out of the way, leav` ing the cylinder 16 unobstructed.

By means of our invention work of the highest quality can be produced economically. The press is .largely interchangeable with well developed apparatus, facilitating servicing and repair; make ready is simple and convenient; and any desired set-up may be preserved for future use.

We claim:

1. In a press, the combination with a type carrying bed and a cylinder for impressing the material to be printed against the type, of a rule die secured to said bed, a second cylinder for impressing the material against said die, means on each of said cylinders for holding a sheet of material and means for transferring the material from said first cylinder to said second cylinder.

2. In a press, the combination with a type carrying bed and a cylinder for impressing the material to be printed against the type, of a second cylinder for impressing the material against a rule die, a jacket removably secured to said second cylinder, means on each a cutting impression cylinder having a smaller diameter than said printing cylinder,

cylinder, means for transferring the material to be printed from the printing to the cutting' cylinder,.means for moving said printing cylinder to and from the bed on the printing and recovery strokes respectively, and means for moving the cutting cylinder through a greater distance to and from the bed on said strokes.

6. In a press for printing, cutting, and scoring material and having a, reciprocating bed, a printing cylinder, a transfer cylinder, a cutting and scoring cylinder, means on each of said cylinders for gripping the material, a

removable jacket secured to the cutting and scoring c linder, and a delivery coordinated with sai cutting and scoring cylinder and mounted separatelytherefrom for receiving material from the cutting and scoring cylinder and movable to permit access to said cylinder for removing the jacket.

7. In a press having a reciprocating type carrying bed, a printing impression cylinder, a cutting impression cylinder, a rack and gear segment on said bed and printing cylinder timed to engage at the instant of impression of said printing cylinder, and a longer rack and segment on said bed and cutting cylinder timed to engage prior to the instant of impression of said cutting cylinder.

In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands.

' GEORGE F. FORD.

WALTER PITTMAN.

of said cylinders for holding a sheet of mal terial and means for transferrngthe material from said first cylinder to said second cylinder.

3. In a press, the combination with a type carrying bed and a cylinder for impressing the material to be printed a ainst the type, of a rule die secured to sai bed, la second cylinder for impressing the material against said die, a transfer cylinder, gri pers on said transfer cylinder,'and a remove le jacket encircling a portion of said second cylinder and having openings in the trailing edge thereof for clearingthe grippers on said transfer cylinder.

4. In a press havinga reciprocating type carrying bed, a printing impression cylinder, a cutting impression 'c linder, means for for moving said printing cylinder to and from the bed on the printing and cuttingv strokes respectively, and means for moving the cutting cylinder through a greater distance to and from the bed on said strokes.

5. In a press having a reciprocating type carrying bed,a printing impresslon cylinder, 

